Blog Archives

The subject of extremist Islamism, and refuting it, remains a live one—and it is unlikely that it will change anytime soon. If there is ever a comprehensive and thorough response to extremist Islamism, it will have to take on board the need to deconstruct religious arguments from within religion.

After six years, Egypt is reopening religious training camps to bring its employees and others up to speed on their education and give them the tools to guard against extremist thought. In addition to targeting imams, administrative staff and midlevel department heads, the camps will target students of Al-Azhar institutes …

The Italian government denied on Wednesday that the US, during the Obama administration, had given it explosive evidence or actionable information on the involvement of Egyptian security officials in the murder of Giulio Regeni, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

In a recently leaked audio recording that went viral on social media, Cairo University media professor Yaseen Lasheen allegedly is heard sexually harassing an anonymous student and trying to blackmail her. The case is not the first accusation against Lasheen, who was already under investigation by the university for other reasons, and it brings the subject of sexual …

Information gathered by Amnesty International suggests that Mohamed Abdel Satar, a schoolteacher, was forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed by Egyptian security forces, according to a report the international rights organization released on Tuesday.

Suicides, violent deaths and sexual assaults are on the increase in the Middle East and are leading to a “lost generation”, a new study has warned. According to the “Intentional injuries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990–2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015” study, deaths due to self-harm …

Mahmoud Muhammad and his family were not home when Egyptian security forces knocked on the door of their flat in Cairo’s Nasr City on June 30. An hour later, security forces returned in full riot gear and forcefully entered the flat, sniffer dogs in tow. The Egyptian officers questioned other …